Location - where are you?Weather - temperature, wind, precipitation, etc.Ride - distance, terrainWhat did you wear? OK if you want to talk about just one item.How did it work out? Frostbite or comfy cozy?

Location - State College PA
Weater - 30-32F, not much wind
Ride - 6 miles
What did you wear? Cotton socks/running shoes. Costco windbreaker pants, under armor dry fit shirt, eddie bauer down jacket, nike running gloves, carhart helmet liner and helmet.
How did it work out? Not awful. 1st cold ride and fingers were freezing and core was sweating to the point my shirt is soaked. Need to get better gloves and lighter jacket for this weather. Lower body attire was perfect.

Location - Western suburbs of ChicagoWeather - 33 degrees at 5:30am, probably near 50 degrees in the afternoon, brisk wind from the southwest which gave me at least 23 continuous miles of headwind, dryRide - 140.2 miles, ~3,500 feet of elevation gain. What did you wear? Wool cycling socks with toe warmers, tights with wind pants, fleece and long sleeve running top underneath my waterproof shell, fleece headband that covers my ears. Started out with my lobster claw gloves but switched to regular long finger gloves at mile 37. How did it work out? I was comfortable throughout the ride

Location: Broome County, New York
Weather: 35 degrees 7:15 a.m, remained at or near that temp for duration. Light wind. Sunny!
Ride: 14 miles - 1,115 ft. elevation gain
What did you wear: Specialized Audax shoes, placed duct tape over forefoot air vents, mid-weight Smartwool socks. Regular bibs with leggings. Gore base layer with wind block front; Garneau winter type jacket. Winter gloves but not the claws. Helmet, no hat. Oakley warp type glasses.
How did it work out: I was cool throughout, all climbs were in areas not yet reached by the sun. Feet were cold but not awful. Fingers were cold (I always struggle with keeping hands warm). Teary eyes during the descents but manageable. Could have used another layer. All in all, not bad.

A little cold infiltrated under the bottom of the Castelli Alpha ROS jersey but I was comfortable most of the time. The only time there was really a chill was crossing a broad valley just before sunrise. The sky was clear and air was calm so the cold settled into the valley and it was brisk. I'm very happy with the Castelli Alpha ROS jersey.

Starting temp was 54°f and a slight breeze of 5mph. Initially was uncomfortably cold, and thought to myself I'll have to keep the power up to keep core warm. Five minutes in I was warmed up and very comfortable. Traveled one way as the sun was setting, crested then descended a large hill, which put me out of the remaining sunlight, temperature difference was at least 6°f. I was close to uncomfortably cold again!

I increased effort on the way back to keep warm. I should have packed an extra thin overshirt, my baclava and full finger gloves! Temperature was 45°f when I finished the ride. I got lucky in that the wind was down to 1mph, and at my back.

Last night on my commute home I got rained on, snowed on and then pounded by ice pellets. All in a span of 40km over 2h commute.
But at least I was ready. But the 45kmh with 70kmh gusts of wind got the better of me.

Maybe too much caffeine on the drive to the start location but I froze my rear-end off for the first half hour of the ride. Shivering and almost quit. Thumbs and big toes were numb.

Then I started a 16 mile climb but the first half was on the west facing slopes of the mountains where the sun had not yet come up. I finally warmed up half way up the climb where it got steep and broke a sweat. I wasn't completely comfortable until I descended back toward the car in the valley later in the afternoon. It was about 50° in the lower elevations by then and felt really good.

Every year I have to re-learn how to ride in the cold. Windblock gloves and toe warmers were the lesson that day. I also didn't bring enough food. Gels and blocks are great for quick energy but I should have brought a turkey wrap or something substantial so that digestion could generate heat from the inside.

Location - albuqerque, NMWeather: dry but lightly windy, started at 39 and finished at 70+. In low 50s after less than 2 hoursRide - Century with two major climbs but mostly on the river valley at only 5,000’ or so. Climbs were to 6000/6500What did you wear?

Last Tuesday was quite awesome. Went out last week in about 4C, same kit but heavier base layer and I kept the arm warmers on. Loving my Gabba, on the bid for an Alpha ROS (or equivalent Assos).

My Gabba is my go to for anything. Today I did NOT wear it, but did have Sugoi arm warmers, a merino t-shirt under a summer jersey, and was nowhere near as comfy in 45F/7C. Also was struggling to go hard enough to get warm, for some reason.

I have an Alpha ROS too. Had the original Alpha, but the paramedics sliced that off me last November. After 1 interrupted ride.

Fingerless gloves did the trick (climbing = hot hands for me; I brought insulated gloves but did not use them)

Sock Experiment: I tried thick acrylic hiking socks - they were not so great, especially for downhill by the end of the ride (when it dropped to 37F). My old combo of medium thin wool socks and normal cycling socks on top worked much better.

I could have used a bit more on the head toward the end. I had just an earband under my summer helmet. Next time, I'll bring a thin wool hat or balaclava in addition to the earband.

Last edited by wipekitty; 11-02-18 at 11:50 AM.
Reason: breaking up wall of text

My Gabba is my go to for anything. Today I did NOT wear it, but did have Sugoi arm warmers, a merino t-shirt under a summer jersey, and was nowhere near as comfy in 45F/7C. Also was struggling to go hard enough to get warm, for some reason.

I have an Alpha ROS too. Had the original Alpha, but the paramedics sliced that off me last November. After 1 interrupted ride.

First off, glad you're back in business! SLICED off? By paramedics? That sounds serious.

It was only my 2nd or 3rd ride in the Gabba but I'm very happy with that piece of kit. Once it gets close to 10C, i want to have some wind block on my torso. The summer jerseys vent too much and even with a thick merino base layer (eg icebreaker 260 weight), too much cold air gets through and hits my body - in my experience. The Gabba confirms I can get away without wind block on my arms. BTW, i was also wearing my full Assos leg warmers under the thermal knickers - i don't need shoe covers with that setup and I'm riding more on the leisurely side so not overheating.
I'm thinking to try a short pull in the rain (it's been almost constant here the last week except for Tuesday) this weekend. If the temps stay low then I'll use my Louis Garneau jacket rather than the Gabba (full sleeves, high neck).

First off, glad you're back in business! SLICED off? By paramedics? That sounds serious.

It was only my 2nd or 3rd ride in the Gabba but I'm very happy with that piece of kit. Once it gets close to 10C, i want to have some wind block on my torso. The summer jerseys vent too much and even with a thick merino base layer (eg icebreaker 260 weight), too much cold air gets through and hits my body - in my experience. The Gabba confirms I can get away without wind block on my arms. BTW, i was also wearing my full Assos leg warmers under the thermal knickers - i don't need shoe covers with that setup and I'm riding more on the leisurely side so not overheating.
I'm thinking to try a short pull in the rain (it's been almost constant here the last week except for Tuesday) this weekend. If the temps stay low then I'll use my Louis Garneau jacket rather than the Gabba (full sleeves, high neck).

It wasn’t the best. Week in the ICU, few of that in critical and so on. But the permanent damage isn’t too bad, all things considered. I was off the left leg for 15 weeks totally, though, and there’s still another surgery or two to come.

I have fhe older, convertible Gabba. It’s superb for changeable days. Start with sleeves on and maybe warmers under it, zip off as and when the day warms up or the effort increases. The fit is great, too.

I think fhe newer equivalent is the Perfetto. Really, the convertibility is what — to me — makes it such a great bit of kit.

Summary and conclusion: I did not really want any more cold above the neck, and still find keeping wind away from ears a challenge despite long eladticated beanie clamped on further with regular cycling glasses over it - might look at elastic-strap fastened lenses.
Jeans don't keep my legs warm. Long-Johns instead of the hoodie would've been better. Or some padded combats.

The long-sleeve roll-neck tee (actually a woman's top from Primark) with puffy Parker coat made my CrossHatch are the winning combination for the torso. But the hood restricts side/rear visibility.

The thin, smooth Lycra type gloves over the wool gloves work perfectly, haven't looked beyond this for a couple of winter's now.

I need to seal my beanie properly. I've tried loads and this is the best, but other than a balaclava (not practical in the city) I believe the answer lies in getting eyewear clamped over the top better.

The boots are good but they don't have a webbed tongue, and I was aware of venting through the laces. I didn't have this problem last year, when I was wearing elasticated leather Chelsea boots. So i know the answer to that one.

Bikes: Vintage steel, aluminum, modern carbon disc, single speed, MTB's, the works

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I just made one change. When it gets down to the low 50's and below I always wear my regular fingerless gloves with my Nalini shells over them. Then when my hands warm up I just remove the shells. The temp dropped over the last week and I started wearing my regular full finger MTB gloves and they've been perfect down to the low 40's. I like the way they feel on my hoods and I may wear them on road rides when it's warm. They aren't padded which is actually what I prefer.

I shoulda worn my Assos fugu insulated gloves today, It was windy and my hands were (almost uncomfortably) cold. Feet and legs were fine. I was a bit cool up top so think it's time to spring for a new ls jacket or maybe a proper gillet. Seems like we're getting one sunny day a week now but it might be another month until we're below freezing consistently for winter so I wanna squeeze out as much riding as I can 'fore they start dumping salt on the roads.